Mayfield Messenger - 2018-01-26

Mr David Jeapes - Headteacher

Throughout last week, pupils across the school enjoyed participating in our first ever “My Only Limitation Is My Ambition” or MOLIMA week. We are indebted to Mrs. Amber Sheppard for her work in coordinating this activity. More information can be found here.

I would like to remind all of our community that if pupils are required to take medication during school hours then parents/carers should make our health and welfare officer, Mrs. Sally Rowntree aware. Her contact details are as follows;

Equally, if you have general health or welfare concerns or simply want some advice, then Mrs. Rowntree is there to provide confidential help or signpost you to additional support.

Please be aware that as we come to the end of this half term, we will be posting out a letter to all parents and carers as well as sending home reports for all pupils. It is essential that we have your correct contact details. If these have changed recently, then please alert us by sending an email to our SIMS Manager, Mrs. Helen Patis on Patis@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk

To help our families plan their time, we have produced an extract of the school calendar containing all of the keys dates for Spring 1. This can be downloaded here.

Miss Louise Hillier - Head of Senior

Year 11 are drawing to the end of their mock examinations- with next week containing only English Literature, Physics, Further Mathematics and Art. Well done to all of them on their efforts with these exams.

Year 8 and 9 Mayfields begin next week in Mathematics, English and Science. Revision materials are available here to support your children.

The Year 8 Parents Evening is Thursday 22nd February from 4pm. Booking is on-line and is now open, the link is here. If you are having any problems booking appointments, please contact reception who will be happy to help you. This is a particularly important evening as this will be when option forms are given out to parents, so please do come along.

Pupils in Years 7 and 8 will have received their Spring 1 ‘Prep’ projects over the holiday and be working on them. A copy of the projects can be found here. If your child is having difficulty with any aspect of the project, then they should contact their tutor. Contact details can be found here.

I will just take this opportunity to remind parents that mobile phones and headphones should not be being used in school by students. If they are seen they will be confiscated. I would be grateful if you could remind your children of this.

Mr Matt Stedman - Head of Primary

We were delighted to welcome Sir Ben Ainslie to talk to the children on Monday. Sir Ben gave us an inspiring end to MOLIMA week by talking about his ambitions when he was younger and how he has gone to achieve this. The children asked him some very insightful questions and listened intently to Sir Ben’s answers. I hope that your child has been inspired and motivated by all of the visitors that we have had over the last week.

One of our ambitions for the children is that they develop their competency as a musician and performer. We have therefore entered a Choir to take part in the Year 2 Infant Voices Festival this spring. All of the children will be learning the songs in their Music lessons with Mr Ralls, but up to 30 pupils have the opportunity to join the Year 2 Choir who will perform at Kings Theatre in March alongside choirs from other Portsmouth Primary and Infant schools. If you would like your child to take part in this fantastic opportunity, please make sure that you sign them up for the Singing Stars extra-curricular club on Thursdays in Spring 2. The photo above shows last year’s performance at the Kings.

Since Christmas, our first group of Year 3 pupils have started their keyboard lessons and they are already making great progress. We are very keen to expand the range of musical tuition that is available to junior section pupils from September. Next week, we will be sending a questionnaire home to the parents of Year 2 and 3 children to find out the instruments that you would like your child to be able to learn at school in the next academic year.

The booking system for Spring 2 Extra-Curricular is going to open on Wednesday 31st January at 6pm and it will remain open until Monday 5th February at 12 noon. As ever, Mrs Guy and the team have put together a wide range of exciting activities to appeal to all tastes and interest. The Extra-Curricular programme for Spring 2 will be available to be viewed on the school website on Monday 29th January. Please take time to discuss with your child the clubs that they would like to attend and only book spaces for the ones that they are definitely going to attend.

We are looking forward to the Friends of Mayfield movie night next Thursday. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help on this evening – we would not be able to provide the children with these wonderful opportunities without your help and support. We are also looking forward to the NSPCC Number Day next Friday. Each year group has been set their own mathematical challenge to raise money for this worthwhile cause and I’m sure that this day is going to be a great success.

Mrs I Edwards - Pre-School & Nursery

This will be the last week that we shall be looking at the theme Winter. During this topic we have been looking at snowflakes, discussing the different patterns they observed when using magnifiers. They have also created Ice Art in class which they have observed throughout the day, gaining an awareness of cause and effect. In class this week, to bring the topic to a close, we will be trying some Science Experiments. We will try to make Sticky Ice, Make Frost and make Ice Grow. The next topic we shall be covering in class will be Chinese New Year celebrations.

Learning Intentions Linked to class subject:

Follow simple instructions;

Comment and ask questions;

Anticipate what might happen next.

Letter of the week is 'P' we look forward to seeing your lovely creations and sharing these at circle time.

Just to remind you half term is from the 12th February till the 16th February.

News Items

Every Thursday in Tutor time pupils take part in a general knowledge/topical quiz. Pupils are placed into mixed year group teams of 4-5 and compete against the other teams in their tutor group.

Points have been added to the overall house cup competition which now stands at:

Throughout your mock exams we have organised revision breakfasts before your English and Maths exams. This means that on the following dates you will need to be in school for 8.10 (ready to start at 8.15):

Monday 29th January (English)

On these dates you will need to go to the following rooms (please note that the teacher leading the session maybe different to your normal teacher):

English

Maths

Class

Teacher

Room

Class

Teacher

Room

11S1

Miss Parsons

115

11S1

Mrs Gale

118

11S2

Miss Barnes

114

11S2

Mrs Fairley

118a

11S3

Mrs Drudge

108

11S3

Mrs Head

105

11S4

Miss Chapman

110

11S4

Mr Denford

117

11S5

Miss Dare

107

11S5

Mr Denford

117

11S6

Mr Stedman

105

11S6

Mrs Williams

108

11T1

Ms Slater

103

11T1

Mrs Hillier

109

11T2

Mrs Drudge

108

11T2

Mr Gingell

110

11T3

Miss Dare

107

11T3

Mrs Head

105

11T4

Miss Webb

116

11T4

Mr Ralph

114

11T5

Mr Tite

109

11T5

Mrs Sinclair

115

11T6

Mrs Sinclair

115

On the day we will provide you with a breakfast (normally consisting of pastries, fruit, juice and a sausage or bacon sandwich). You need to make sure you are well fuelled for your exams, so whilst you do not have to eat this breakfast please ensure you have eaten something each morning.

These revision breakfasts are vital in helping you remember last minute tips and advice specific to the English or Maths exam you will be sitting that day - if you are unable to make it in for these revision breakfasts then your parents need to call, email, or provide a written note to Mr Gibson.

The theme this week for primary pupils is MY ONLY limitation is my ambition.

Sir Ben Ainslie, from the Land Rover BAR, came in to do a talk with the Primary section. Ben said: ‘We are really proud to be in Portsmouth and we feel part of us being here is to inspire kids to get into sport and I think sport can really help them become focused in life and learn skills like teamwork.’

The pupils were given a presentation on Land Rover BAR and a history of the America’s Cup before asking Sir Ben questions. Answering to why he got into sailing, he said: ‘I grew up in Cornwall and I would go to the local sailing club and I also really liked the competition aspect and working within a team.’

On Monday year 11s were fortunate to be visited by the National Citizen Service who came to talk to them about an exciting opportunity for them to take part in the National Citizen Service programme over their summer holiday.

This 4 week programme is made up of a mixture of residential and non-residential courses which see them take part in team building activities, developing lifeskills like cooking, first aid, budget planning and work on a community action project. This is a fun programme that also looks impressive on CVs - and as a government subsidised event it only costs £35!

For more details please see the attached letter - the National Citizen Service will be coming back into school on Friday 26th January to answer any questions pupils might have. If you have any questions yourself then please feel free to contact them on ncs@pompeyitc.org.uk or phone us on 02392 728 899 (op.tion 2)

Madeline Owen in year 9 has created this stunning design of a seagull out of words and phrases.

This technique is called ‘micrography’ and is inspired by our marine pollution project. Madeline has managed to keep a good balance of tone whilst keeping the empty spaces clear and well formed. Great job!